


I Know Those Eyes/This Man Is Dead

by kindfish



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, M/M, One Shot, Songfic, Tord x Reader x Tom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-20 19:57:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14900987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kindfish/pseuds/kindfish
Summary: Tord x Reader x TomYou and Tom have a run-in with a ghost of your past years after you thought he was dead.





	I Know Those Eyes/This Man Is Dead

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't heard the song (which is the title), it is from the Count of Monte Cristo musical, and I highly suggest listening to it as it was the inspiration behind the fanfic. Hope you enjoy!

“(Y/n), take cover!” You hear someone yell as the bomb sirens begin to wail. There is only enough time for you to duck down in an ally before the ground where you once stood explodes into fire. The force pushes you back into the brick wall of an empty building, knocking the air out of your lungs upon impact.  
You grunt loudly, wiping the dirt from your eyes. There is a loud ringing in your ears as everything around you seems to move in slow motion. You sputter and wheeze through the dust kicked up by the blast as you try to catch your breath, spitting out dirt in the process. Another bomb explodes to your left, which you realize only because of the bright flash. Gritting your teeth, you try to stand. I need to move.

Your body barely cooperates, still shaken and disoriented from being thrown. You stumble, gripping the loose bricks as you lean into the building for support. Ignoring the screaming pain in your back, you find a chunk of the wall missing, and tuck yourself inside.

This started as a simple scouting mission in the town south of the Red Army’s control. A small group of locals banned together to rebel against the tyrannical Red Leader, calling for help in evacuating the town completely before they arrived in the coming days.

When the invasions began over a year ago, you kept your head down, seeking company with only your three closest friends. But as the battles spread closer to home, they knew the time for sitting on the sidelines was over. And as much as you hate fighting, and can never imagine taking another human’s life, they were right. There are people who need help, and you can do something about it. Though, nothing prepared you for the bone-rattling force of raining bombs.

The assault from above ends as quickly as it started. Still, it takes several minutes of absolute silence to convince your muscles to relax and uncurl your body from the fetal position you took up. With a shaky breath, you dare to peak outside. Your stomach drops.

Blood. The first thing you see is blood splattered near the opening of the building, and you swallow hard to keep down the nausea. From your spot, you can’t see where it came from. Judging from how much there is, part of you doesn’t want to find its source. To your luck, the buildings around you took less damage than the surrounding area. Only a few crumbled walls and blown out windows. Pillars of smoke rise up and cloud out the sun, covering the destroyed town in eerie shadows.  
Besides your back and a few minor cuts, the rest of your body is back to functioning normally. The ringing in your ears has stopped, and you decide to call for the others through the radio during this silence.

As soon as I hear from someone, I need to get out of here. Who knows if the bombers will come back?

“H-hello? Is anyone there?” Your voice is hoarse, talking into the device. It crackles once before going quiet. You’re about to try again when you hear a group of scuffling boots approaching from behind. Their footsteps pause before reaching your hiding spot, and you hold your breath.

“Have the men scout ahead.” You freeze, hearing a voice drift through the wind. “Execute any survivors.”

It’s strong, confident, cold, and…familiar.

Without thinking, you scoot closer to the opening to hear better.

“Paul. Pat. Tell the bombers to return to base.” There is a feeling stirring within your chest that you haven’t felt in a long time. For a moment, you are thrown back into memories you tried so hard to keep buried away. His laugh echoing through each flashing picture. His ghost of a hand intertwined with yours. And his lips…

“This is Matt calling in for backup-” The radio picks up a signal that you quickly switch off, praying the stranger didn’t hear. 

“If there is anyone hiding here, you should give yourself up now. There is no escaping the Red Army.” The voice calls out.

“T-Tord?” The name stubbles out of your mouth before you can stop it. You hear more shuffling, like someone turning around quickly in the dirt. Then, silence again. You want to kick yourself for being stupid, calling out a dead man’s name. Still, not matter how hard you try, you can’t shake the feeling that the lover you lost years ago is now only several feet away.

“(Y/n)? Was that you I heard?” You gasp at your name before clapping a hand over your lips, eyes wide. The way your name is rolled off his tongue is unmistakable. “Darling, why don’t you come out so we can catch up?”

Every cell in your body screamed to run away, but you found yourself slowly ducking out of the hole in the wall. You had to know if it was really him.

Leaning out half way, you carefully peak around the side of the building in the direction of the voice. Through the smoke, you see someone standing in the middle of a clearing, most likely what’s left of the town’s center, draped in a blue coat with a Red Army patch. Even though he is turned to the side, he doesn’t notice your movements due to the eye closest to you being covered. You take this opportunity to shift out completely, still hugging the wall.

His hair, those two stubborn devil horns stick up all the same, now paired with a short ponytail in the back. His face, once smooth, pale skin, is littered with pink scars. But the slight slouch in his stance, the cigar between his lips, it is as if this image has been ripped from your memory and broadcasted out in front of you. Tears prick the corners of your eyes as you take a step towards the man.

You open your mouth to call out, but suddenly an arm pulls you back behind the wall. You’re crushed into a hug in the shelter of the building as a familiar scent fills your nose.

“Tom” you mumble into his blue hoodie, melting into his arms and forgetting the situation. Only for a moment. Both of you collapse on the ground together, leaning up against the wall. He pulls away, relief and worry radiating from his scratched-up face.

“I’m glad you’re okay, but what the hell were you doing? We need to go NOW” he whispers harshly, eyebrows furrowed over his black eyes.

“Tom…” your voice shakes along with your legs. “Tom…it’s Tord. That’s Tord. Tom, he’s alive.” There is no way to tell if you are actually happy about your discovery due to the storm of emotions rushing around in your head. Either way, your heart pounds away and makes it hard to sit still.

“No. No, that is not Tord.” Tom grips your shoulders to stop you from looking over again. “Listen to me (y/n), we can’t do this right now. Tord is dead. You saw him-”  
“I really wish you wouldn’t hide from me, (y/n). Makes me believe you don’t want to see me.” The voice splits the air between you. This time it causes Tom’s eyes to widen as his head snaps up to the sound of a ghost he once knew.

“NO.” Tom shakes his head furiously, sounding more frantic. “He has moved on. He doesn’t care about any of us now. Please don’t try to talk to him. We need to go. He’s dangerous.”

“Wait did you know?” You push Tom’s hands from your shoulders and scoot back. He swallows hard, unable to look you straight in the eye. “Answer me Tom, did you know he was alive?”

His jaw opens and shuts a few times before he starts to speak. “(y/n), look…yes I did know, and I knew how much it would hurt if you found out. I knew how much you would want to go find him. Trust me, he hurt both of us, so much. And that man out there? That is not Tord.”

“We’re supposed to go through this together…not keep secrets.”

“I…I’m so sorry.”

You stare up at Tom’s eyes which share your pain. The memories, the tears, the last moments with Tord, he knew all too well. As much as he tried to push this away, to make you both forget, to make you happy, it didn’t matter now. Everything came flooding back, filling his body with toxic jealousy and rage and…the aching. A tearing at his insides when he heard your voices together. A hole ripped through his core when you took each other’s hands. And a shattered heart when he saw the hatred in Tord’s eyes when he left for good.

Tom sucks in a sharp breath, blinking away the tears he swore to never shed again. He looks back at you, and you can see how his mind is whirling like yours. This is a dangerous situation, with both of you not being able to think clearly as the enemy plucked at your heartstrings for a reaction.

Enemy…Could you even call him that? Would you ever be able to full accept Tord being Red Leader?

“(y/n), please come out. I just want to talk.” He calls again, this time with a gentle touch. “I really have missed you.”

Tom’s hand finds yours and squeezes it tightly as the tears begin to flow freely down your cheeks. The heart in your chest, which is on a frenzy, yearns for you to run to him. Put all the past behind you, curl up into his strong arms, and forget everything.

You know that if it had been anyone else at your side in the moment, you wouldn’t have given a second thought at revealing your position. However, this was Tom with you. The one who went through everything just the same. The one you found comfort in now. Of course, he wasn’t anything like Tord, but you’d never expect him to be.

Tord lit a fire in you. He was dangerous and daring. Pushing you further than your limits and kept you guessing. He was passionate in his kisses, blunt with his affection, and always needed to be touching you in some way; whether that be a hand on your thigh, an arm wrapped around your waist, or his favorite, you sitting on his lap. You disagreed often, though never raised your voices to fight, and spent countless nights red in the face from laughing at his witty humor.

Tom, on the other hand, is solid, predictable, and stable; full of deep emotions and lingering hugs. You fit into his chest like a puzzle piece on long nights where you would lie awake in thought. There are kisses, sure, but they were short and soft. They are reminders that you won’t leave, no matter how dark the world around you may seem. Any passion either of you had was torn away.

At first, you had sworn off love forever, only visiting when nightmares plagued your mind. As time passed, neither of you could sleep without the other beside them. You built each other back up, and you couldn’t let that effort be thrown away now.

Tom is right. The Tord you knew is dead.

“There’s someone with you, isn’t there?” His voice has gone cold again, dripping with venom. “Classic, stupid, Tom.” You see Tom’s body go stiff at the sound of his name, breath catching in his throat.

“Tom, let’s go.” You knew he was strong but hearing Tord’s voice for so long has begun to wear you down each minute that goes by. Do you even have the strength to run away?

“My old friend, I’ve missed you too.”

“I’m not-” It is your turn to stop Tom’s reaction, placing your hand over his mouth. He’s shaking. From fear or rage? Maybe both. Neither of you have time to figure it out.

“But I’ve told you want would happen if you stole my love away, Tom. It seems that you did not listen to my warning.”

Taking Tom’s face in your hands, you force him to look you in the eyes. You plant a soft kiss on his forehead to reassure him. I’m here. You were right. We need to leave.

He snaps out of his trance and returns the gesture, both of you afraid of not making it back to the rebel’s base. Who knows how many soldiers are out there waiting for you? Who knows if there is even a base to return to. But you must try.

“Show yourself, cowards.” He is growing angry, growling with his words.

Will we really ever be free of him?

“Fine. I’ll just find you myself.” You hear him say, along with the unmistakable cocking of a gun.

As soon as you hear his boots shift, Tom is on his feet, hauling you up with him. With his hand still in yours, you begin to run.

“Don’t look back!” Tom says as he pulls you along, dodging piles of debris and flames licking at your heels. However, your eyes move like magnets being tugged back over your shoulder, hoping to catch his silhouette one last time.

Tord stands out in the open where you were seconds ago with Tom, gun in hand. You expected to see anger, arms lashing out, and chasing after you in a blind rage. Instead, his body is unmoving. The wind picks up, lifting his unkept bangs out of his face, his expression sending shivers down your spine. You have to tear your gaze away as Tord stares you down with one cold eye, and an inhumanly wide grin.


End file.
